Masonry guides



April 28, 1964 J. P. BONGIOVANNI MASONRY GUIDES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 INVENTOR. 52 John P. Bongiovunni April 28, 1964 J. P. BONGIOVANNI 3,130,500

v MASONRY GUIDES Filed Feb. 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,130,500 MASONRY GUIDES John P. Bongiovanni, 117 Sylvan Drive, New Kensington, Pa. Filed Feb. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 791,904 1 Claim. (Cl. 33-85) This invention relates to masonry guides and particularly to masonry g ides for use in laying brick courses and the like about structures to be encased in brick or the like.

It is well known that to erect a masonry structure or case a structure with masonry and have accurate projection vertically and horizontally is difficult and tedious work. The conventional hand method involves both frequent plumbing and leveling of each course of masonry as building proceeds. It is particularly necessary to have accurate and true corners. Thus, plumbing and leveling at the corners are most frequently and carefully done, resulting in a considerable consumption of time and money.

Various devices have been heretofore proposed attempting to alleviate the problem. However, all of these devices have had various shortcomings that have either failed to solve the problem or have created new problems of their own. Many of the prior devices could not be employed until after several courses of brick had been laid, which meant that for the first several courses the old hand method had to be used, other devices had to be strapped or chained about building columns and then moved as the courses rose to interfere with it. Each such move requiring realignment. Still other devices were so close to the work that the corners could not be completed without interference from the guiding device. A very glaring shortcoming was that none of these devices were suitable to operate on inside corners. This is most important, particularly with rambling type homes that have many inside corners to build.

The present invention provides a structure significantly differing from prior art structures, of relatively simple construction and therefore low in cost, strong and easy to utilize, and not subject to any of the aforementioned limitations of the prior art masonry guides.

I provide a post member vertically mounted on a lower attaching member adapted to be attached to the corner of a foundation upon which brick courses or the like are to be laid, a spacing member mounted on the upper end of the post member, an upper attaching member carried on the end of the spacing member and adjustable thereto adapted to be attached to a corner of an outside portion of a structure to be cased, and guide line means slidably engaged with said post member and adjustable thereto.

My masonry guide may be made for either outside or inside corners or for middle of the line operation and being attached at the foundation it is utilized from the first course of masonry to the last. My structure further provides that the attaching members and spacing member are mounted so that the post member is spaced out sutliciently away from the work to allow the corner to be completed without interference from my guide or without having to remove my guide to finish the corner. This means that the difiicult and time consuming plumbing and leveling of the masonry guide need only be done when initially installing it.

Preferably, a sufiicient number of my masonry guides should be used when casing a structure with brick or the like, so as to have one of my masonry guides at each inside and outside corner so that the guide lines may extend entirely about the structure and thereby permit the work to proceed on all sides at once. Thus, the need of constant leveling and plumbing of the brick courses at and between the corners is obviated, the workmen having only to lay their brick to the guide line strung about the structure and precisely and accurately positioned for each course by my masonry g ides.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a certain present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown certain present preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a masonry guide for outside corners according to my in vention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a masonry guide for inside corners according to my invention;

FlGURE 3 is a perspective View of a masonry guide for both outside corners and middle of the line use;

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective view of my masonry guides installed on a structure to be cased in masonry;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial cross sectional View taken along line VV of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view taken along line VIVI of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective fragmentary view of a modified inside corner guide.

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGURE 1, I have illustrated a masonry guide for outside corners having a post it of square section mounted at its lower end on lower spacing plate 11 which in turn is mounted on a \.-'-shaped lower anchor plate 12. The post 10 is mounted on plate 11 with one corner Illa spaced from the line formed by the inner apex of anchor plate 12 a distance equal to the thickness of a guide line. Lower anchor plate 12 is suitably angled to receive the outside corner of foundation l3 and contains holes 14 through which suitable masonry nails 15 are driven into founda tion 13 to anchor the lower end of my masonry guide to the foundation. Lower spacing plate 11 is positioned upon lower anchor plate 12 so that when lower anchor plate 12 is fastened to foundation 13 a portion of lower spacing plate 11 extends over and lays flush on top of the corner of foundation 13. This arrangement facilitates proper locating and seating of my masonry guide and simplifies positioning of the guide while attaching lower anchor plate 12 to foundation 13. Lower spacing plate ll should, preferably, be equal in thickness to the thickness of the first layer of mortar. The masonry is then laid over the top of this portion of lower spacing plate 11. After completion of the wall or casing, my guide is removed and the space vacated by lower spacing plate 11 may then be filled with mortar. In a preferred embodiment of my masonry guide, leading edge 14a of lower spacing plate 11 is beveled downwardly to facilitate removal of my masonry guide after completion of the masonry work by allowing the post to be tilted in a backward direction away from the corner and thus moved out arid free from the corner without disturbing the course of masonry above lower spacing plate 11. Mounted at the upper end of post it) is upper spacing plate 16 which is adjustable in a horizontal plane by virtue of slots 17 and 13, slot 17 allowing adjustment lengthwise and slot 18 allowing adjustment sidewise in upper spacing plate 16. Any unintentional adjustment of upper spacing plate 16 is prevented by the tightening of wing nut 19 on carriage bolt 24? with lock Washer 21 and Washer 22' thereon, said carriage bolt 24) passing through slots 17 and 18 and thereby holding upper space plate 16 together. Fastened on the end of upper spacing plate 16 is V-shaped upper anchor plate 23. Upper anchor plate 23 is suitably angled to receive the outside corner of the outer portion of structure 24 which is to be cased. Upper anchor plate 23 contains holes 25 through which suitable nails 26 may be driven into structure 24 to anchor the upper end of my masonry guide. Once anchored in place my masonry guide may then be adjusted by loosening wing nut 19 and shifting upper spacing plate 16 in a horizontal plane until post it? is in vertical alignment and then tightening wing nut 19 to hold post ll) in vertical alignment.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, I have illustrated a masonry guide for inside corners having a post 36 of square section having a guide rib 36a along one corner in the plane of a diagonal through the square. The lower end of post 39 carries a lower spacing plate 31 which in turn is mounted on lower anchor plate 32. Lower anchor plate 32 is suitably angled to be received by the inside corner of foundation 13' and contains holes 34 through which suitable masonry nails 35 are driven into founda tion 13' to anchor the lower end of my masonry guide to the foundation. Lower spacing plate 31 is positioned upon lower anchor plate 32 so that when lower anchor plate 32 is fastened to foundation 13' a portion of lower spacing plate 31 extends over and lays flush on top of the corner of foundation 13'. This arrangement facilitates proper locating and seating of my masonry guide and simplifies positioning of the guide while attaching lower anchor plate 32 to foundation 13. Lower spac ing plate 31 is, preferably, equal in thickness to the thickness of the first layer or joint mortar. The masonry is then laid over the top of this portion of lower spacing plate 31. After completion of the wall or casing, my guide is removed and the space vacated by lower spacing plate 31 may then be filled with mortar. In a preferred embodiment of my masonry guide, leading edge 34a of lower spacing plate 31, is beveled downwardly to facilitate removal of my masonry guide after completion of the masonry work by allowing the post to be tilted in a backward direction away from the corner and thus moved out and free from the corner without disturbing the course of masonry above lower spacing plate 31. Removal of lower spacing plate 31 is further facilitated by cutting off the corners of leading edge 34a as shown in FIGURE 2. Mounted at the upper end of post 3t) is upper spacing plate 36 which is adjustable in a horizontal plane by virtue of slots 3'7 and 38, slot 37 allowing adjustment lengthwise in spacing plate 36 and slot 33 allowing adjustment sidewise in upper spacing plate 36. Any unintentional adjustment of upper spacing plate 36 is prevented by the tightening of wing nut 39 on carriage bolt 4% with lock washer 41 and washer 42 thereon, said carriage bolt 49 passin through slots 37 and 38 and thereby holding upper space plate 36 together. Fastened on the end of upper spacing plate as is upper anchor plate 43. Upper anchor plate 43 is suitably angled to be received by the inside corner of the outer portion of structure 44 which is to be cased. Upper anchor plate 43 contains holes 45 through which suitablenails 46 may be driven into structure 44 to anchor the upper end of my masonry guide. Once anchored in place my masonry guide may then be adjusted by loosening wing nut 39 and shifting upper spacing plate 36 in a horizontal plane until post 3% is in vertical alignment and then tightening wing nut 39 to hold post 3% in vertical alignment.

Referring to FIGURE 3, l have illustrated a combination outside corner and middle of the line post 50 of square section mounted at its lower end on lower spacing plate 51. Plate 51 is in turn provided with dual anchor plates, one a V-shaped lower anchor plate 52 whose apex is spaced from a line along one corner of the post 50 and two a straight line anchor plate 53. Anchor plate 52 corresponds to anchor plate l2 of the corner post of FIGURE 1 and is provided with holes 54 through which suitable masonry nails may be inserted. The anchor plate 52 and spacing plate 51 operate in precisely the manner of spacing plate 11 and anchor plate 12 of FIG- URE 1. Anchor plate 53 is a fiat plate adapted to lie against the face of a foundation and be held in place by tabs 55 which extend over the foundation and are provided with openings 56 to receive masonry fastening nails. The upper end of post 5% is provided with an upper spacing plate 57 having portions 57a and 57b, one on each side of the post 50. Each such portion is provided with a slot 58 and 59, respectively. An upper V-shaped anchor plate 60 is mounted on one portion 57a by means of a bolt 61 and wing nut 62. The bolt 61 passes through a slot 63 in plate 60 and slot 58 in portion 57:! whereby it may be adjusted in the manner of anchor plate 23 of FIGURE 1. On portion 57b is mounted a straight line anchor plate 64 by means of'bolt 65 and wing nut 66. The bolt 65 passing'through slot 67 in anchor plate 64 and slot 59 in portion 57b. Anchor plate 64 is provided with holes 68 through which nails 6h may be driven into the structure. The straight line portion of this combination post may be used between corner posts, particularly on long runs where the line might otherwise tend to develop sag or slac It is thus possible to assure absolute straight line level courses.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, I have illustrated how my masonry guides, preferably, may be used with one at each corner of the structure to be cased so as to completely surround the structure with guide lines 27 positioned on the posts of my masonry guides by guideline holders 28, which may be loosened and slid along the lengths of the posts.

In erecting walls or casings of masonry it is desirable to predetermine the number of courses and to determine the thickness of the mortar between the courses which will be required to exactly fill the prescribed height. For this purpose posts 16 and 39 have numbered graduations Z9 and 39 respectively marked on their sides. Thus, after determining which series of numbers to follow to give the prescribed result all the workman need do is move holders 23 along the posts 10 and 30 until guide line 2'7 matches the proper number for the next course. Then all the workman need do is lay the next course to guide line 27 completely around the structure and so on for each course to completion.

It is very desirable that guide lines 27 be strung to the outside edges of the course to be laid so that the workman may lay the course of masonry right to the line.

Thus, post id as shown in FIGURE 1 for outside corners is positioned on lower spacing plate 11 so that there is just suflicient clearance for guide lines 27 between it and the corner of masonry being laid. It is 7 also desirable that the workman be able to finish the corner complete while the masonry guide is in place, thus, I have positioned post 1%) so that the post edge 10a is in closest relation to the corner of the work which leaves suificient space on each side for the workman to finish the corner complete with the guide in place.

In FIGURE 7 I have illustrated a modified form of inside corner post in which a rib 71 mounted on sliding legs 70 and 72 is movable in corner post 74.

To finish completely masonry work on inside corners is particularly difiicult because the work space is very limited and when ordinary masonry guides are used-the work space is so cramped that it is impractical to finish the corner complete.

My invention solves this tight quarters problem for inside corners by spacing post 30 back on lower space plate 31 away from the inside corner and fastening a rib extension 390 along the length of post 30 extending from the post toward the inside corner. thin and of planar configuration. Rib 30a is positioned so that there is just suflicient clearance for guide lines 27 between it and the corner being laid. Thus, guide lines 27 are to the outside edge of the course to be laid so that the workmen may lay to the line and still there is sufficient room at the inside corner due to the unique positioning of post 39 and rib 30a so that the workman may finish the inside corner complete without removing the Rib 30a is relatively a V masonry guide. Rib 30a is marked similarly to post 30 with graduations 39 to facilitate accuracy in positioning guide lines 27 and holders 28.

While I have shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A masonry guide for laying corners and straight courses of brick or the like comprising a post member graduated in courses of standard masonry and forming horizontal course lines, a pair of guide edges extending longitudinally on diametrically opposed sides said member lying normal to at least one series of horizontal course lines whereby a guide string passing over said edge falls directly on any one of said series of course lines, a lower spacing plate fixed on one end of said post member transversely thereto, said spacing plate having a planar member transverse to the post member adapted to rest of the last course of masonry a lower V-shaped anchor member adapted to fit on the intersecting foundation walls on one side of said planar member and a flat anchor adapted to fit on a straight wall spaced from the V-shaped anchor, the post member being spaced from said lower anchor members outwardly relative to the foundation with one of the guide edges spaced from the masonry course a distance equal to the thickness of a standard mason line and with the masonry freely passing said post member, a horizontally adjustable upper spacing member mounted at the opposite end of said post member and a reversible upper anchor member carried on the end of the spacing member adjustable therewith and adapted to be attached to the outside of a structure being cased whereby the guide edge is firmly held normal to the horizontal course lines.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 420,880 Lambdin Feb. 4, 1890 1,872,860 Winter Aug. 23, 1932 1,878,448 Cornuelle Sept. 20, 1932 2,623,289 Kampel Dec. 30, 1952 2,761,214 Ruble Sept. 4, 1956 2,788,579 Mills Apr. 16, 1957 2,832,143 Davis Apr. 29, 1958 2,855,681 Andrews Oct. 14, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 943,409 France Oct. 4, 1948 

